Shelter From The Rain
by WOWZAcoolBEANS
Summary: “It’s been so long since we’ve seen the people so precious to us; I don’t want you to die before you see the other ones that you love again.” Subaru doesn’t want to see Kamui waste his life because of his mistakes.


**Title:** Shelter From The Rain

**Synopsis:** "It's been so long since we've seen the people so precious to us; I don't want you to die before you see the other ones that you love besides me again." Subaru doesn't want to see Kamui waste his life because of his mistakes.

**Rating: **T

**A/N**: So I've read both 'X/1999' and 'Tokyo Babylon' which were the two manga that Kamui and Subaru came from, and I must say… I'm completely obsessed with them. Hehehe. Especially Subaru; his story is really heartbreaking. But now that I know a lot more about the characters, I wanted to write something about them. So here that is. Although I think I wrote Kamui differently from the Kamui in 'X', I think that this way reflects his 'Tsubasa' persona better. Review please! I love getting feedback! Oh, and the lyrics are more about Subaru's feelings for Seishirou than for Kamui, by the way…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Tsubasa, because if I did, Kamui and Subaru would have appeared in more than one arc.

--

"I want to end this now so dreams of you won't keep me up, but I swear I'm gonna cry; I'm sick of tryin' to be tough. And my blood won't stick to the confines of my veins. And your heart is gonna tear mine away."

-'A Wish' by Gregory and the Hawk

--

It was dark and it was cold. There were many times when they were forced into situations like this; being on the run was not something that was very easy or comfortable. Each time they traveled they had to find new housing, new 'e', new clothes if theirs weren't suitable for the environment, new everything, really.

If Subaru had to choose, this was not the life that he would have picked.

Rain poured around the roof that Kamui had left him under a few hours ago. With the strict voice that he used only when Subaru had done something wrong, he had ordered him to not move. Even though Subaru knew that Kamui wouldn't stay mad at him for long even if he did decide to spend some time exploring on his own, he waited. It was not worth making Kamui even more mad than he already was.

Still, the pouring rain seemed so much like tears that it brought a few wet drops down Subaru's cheeks. If Kamui, or anyone else for that matter, were to come, he would say that it was just the rain falling through the leaking roof, but in his mind Subaru knew better.

Thoughts flickered at the back of his mind; the thoughts that he did not want to think about.

Kamui knew from the beginning that giving Seishirou blood would be a bad idea. From the very start he was vehemently against it, telling Subaru that it was a crazy idea and that if he did it he would live to regret it. But yet, Seishirou's smile was so charming and it was because of Subaru that the man had lost his eye in the first place.

Just like that magician, if Subaru hadn't given Seishirou his blood, then he would have died. What Subaru couldn't live with was the fact that he would die protecting him, though he should have been stronger and not in need of a frail human body to stand in front of him.

A dark shadow moved closer quickly. Subaru had just enough time to wipe his face on the sleeve of his shirt before Kamui arrived, a somber expression as usual. "Are you alright?" He asked as he handed Subaru an umbrella. "I got this from an old man; he just gave it to me." Shrugging, Kamui adjusted the cravat that he was wearing. "I thought that you would think that it was useful, so I kept it." Apparently Subaru was already forgiven; Kamui would not have spoken like this with him if he were not.

Trying to smile, Subaru opened it up. It was true; it was just the sort of trinket that Subaru always tended to fancy. "Did you say thank you, Kamui?" It would be just like Kamui to walk off without saying anything to the kind old man.

"He gave me the umbrella of his own volition; I didn't see any reason to make a big deal out of it." The monotone, nonchalant tone of his voice was something that Subaru was used to; a small smile grew on Subaru's face. Turning slightly away from Subaru to inspect the pouring rain, a small blush grew on Kamui's face. "I did… I did thank him though. I knew that you'd want me to."

With just the slightest note of hesitation, Subaru reached his hand out and placed it on his brother's shoulder. "Kamui…" He began, but trailed off. What was there to say to this person anymore? For years they had been together, and all because of Subaru's mistake Kamui was forced to live as a nomad, traveling to place to place without ever having a home.

Taking a deep breath, Kamui walked away from Subaru's hand, letting it slip over his shoulder. For a moment it hovered before Subaru gradually brought it up to hold onto the umbrella with his other hand. "You're still angry." Looking at anything besides Kamui, Subaru watched the drops fall on the ground.

The roof was small and the street that they were on was not crowded. Subaru had guessed that they were in some sleepy suburb of someplace where no one goes out where it rains. A few dimensions ago they had been in a place where the rain would burn the skin; compared to that this seemed like nothing.

"I found us a place to stay for the night." So quiet were his words that they were almost covered up by the rain.

A knot formed in the pit of Subaru's stomach. "Is it free?" Knowing from experience, it probably wasn't. Nothing was ever free; that was a fact no matter where the two of them had traveled. Avarice was universal amongst all beings from all stretches of the universe.

"No, it's not. But you don't need to worry-"

"What did you steal, Kamui?" Feeling betrayed, Subaru turned to find Kamui's back facing him.

Seeming to have no emotion at all, Kamui gently placed his fingers onto a metal bar that held up the roof above them. "You always immediately assume that I've done the worst." An edge crept into his voice as his head turned to face Subaru. "But yet I don't see you doing anything to help us survive."

The knot in Subaru's stomach grew tighter, and he feared that it would pull so tight that everything inside of him would just break. "Kamui, I don't want to hurt anyone else to help us survive. You don't know if what you took would really affect the people here. It'd be better if you just returned-"

The grip that Kamui had around the bar tightened, and Subaru saw the roof shaking above them. With very little effort Kamui could break the bar holding the thing up, causing all sorts of problems for the two of them and for whoever owned this place. If that were to happen, Subaru would be very upset. The thought of hurting other people because of his own selfishness made him want to vomit.

"Just come with me, Subaru. Don't say anything, just-"

"I think that I should find Seishirou and let him take me." The words spilled out, rushed and slurred.

With more anger than Subaru had seen in Kamui in quite some time, Kamui turned around to face Subaru with a violent look in his eyes that made him look more like a vampire than ever. If the situation weren't so frightening, than Subaru would have probably laughed. It was always amusing to see Kamui get worked up over things; he got flustered and scatterbrained and so randomly destructive. Though many would have thought that a flaw of Kamui's, Subaru found it endearing. Except, of course, when that anger was focused on him. Then it was something that he could have done without.

"Are you crazy?" Even, measured and filled with poison, Kamui's words stung Subaru's heart. "Do you think that I would _ever_ agree to that, Subaru?"

It was Seishirou who once told him that there was great power in a name, birth place and birthday. Though his words had been proved true to Subaru many times over, it felt like the power that Kamui had over Subaru just by saying his name like that was so great that he felt like toppling over.

Shutting his eyes, Subaru's grip on the umbrella tightened. Feeling the leather of his gloves choke his hands slightly, he spoke. "It's my fault that you have to do these things Kamui, and it's wrong. All of this is wrong. If I just stopped running and caught up to Seishirou, then maybe, just maybe, we could stop all of this. You could return home and have a normal life. Our parents, our friends…" Trailing off, he remembered the faces of those who he had left so long ago. "It's been so long since we've seen the people so precious to us; I don't want you to die before you see the other ones that you love besides me again."

The fierce gaze that Kamui had softened for just a moment. "You're the only person who's important to me, Subaru. I've told you that time and time again." The words were sincere, but they sounded almost forced; Kamui was frustrated. Subaru knew that Kamui didn't want to have this conversation right now. He would never want to have this conversation; he would do so much to protect Subaru, but he refused to listen.

There had been a lot of people who the two of them had been acquainted with in their homeland. Occasionally they would see the people who were close to them in different worlds. Over here was another Kotori, and there a Hokuto; it seemed like Arashi and Sorata showed up wherever they went, but there was always something missing. The moments of childhood that their friends had witnessed were not in the memories of these foreign people. Many times the people who Subaru had cherished most deeply in his heart were antagonistic towards them, and slowly but surely, Subaru found the memories of his friends being replaced by the cold shoulders of the people with the same faces that they had found while traveling. Though he had never spoken to Kamui about it, he feared that the same phenomenon would happen to him as well, and if that did, Subaru would never be able to forgive himself.

Feeling the eyes of his brother staring at him waiting for answers, Subaru spoke what he had been thinking for so long. "Kamui, if we continue on like this-"

"Stop, Subaru." Subaru's assumption was wrong; Kamui was going to be difficult about this. "Don't say anything else, we should get going before-"

"I'm not going to go." Standing his ground despite feeling so turbulent, Subaru stared at his brother with the hardest eyes he could muster. "You need to listen to me, Kamui. I don't want…" Kamui's eyes shined with the fire within them; usually that look was reserved for those who threatened the two of them. "I don't want this life for you anymore. I don't want you to leave behind your life for me and my mistakes." Shamed, Subaru looked at the ground once again. "I want you to have better, Kamui."

"Idiot." Kamui took a step towards his brother, and Subaru flinched ever so slightly; it did not escape Kamui's notice. "Do you think that if I didn't want this, that I would be still here? That if I was unhappy, I would still travel with you like this?" In response, Subaru said nothing, the slightest hint of a blush crawling onto his cheeks. "This was my choice too, Subaru. I could have stopped you when you gave your blood to Seishirou, but I didn't. This is my fate as well, and staying with you…" It was Kamui's turn to look down at the ground. "That is my wish."

Subaru's head popped up. "But Kamui-"

"Stop saying 'but' and stop arguing, Subaru. You're not going to change my mind." With a determined sort of aggression he walked to Subaru, took one of his hands and began to drag him. Trying to feel strong, Subaru attempted to resist, but was just dragged along. "So don't blame yourself."

The rain poured down on Kamui's head as he continued to drag Subaru behind him. It was wet and cold, and he could feel a chill settling into his bones. This was the conversation that he dreaded the most; Subaru was all that he had, and the thought of losing him was-

"You're getting wet." There was a shade over Kamui's head, and the umbrella was over it, leaving Subaru in the rain with his arm outstretched. "You'll catch a cold."

"I'm a vampire; I can't get colds, Subaru."

In the rain behind him, Subaru laughed. "Even so, I wouldn't want my most important person to get wet. If something happened to you, I-" Kamui put his hand over the hand that was holding the umbrella and guided it back over to Subaru.

"We can both fit under the umbrella." Gently, Kamui removed his hand from Subaru's. Trying not to regret the choices that he had made in his life, Subaru smiled and let his brother lead him to the next place that they would stay.

--

_Fin_


End file.
